Able to grind the beans fresh in the machineMakes a mean cup of coffeeLooks really nice on my countertopMatches my kitchen nicely

Negative Product Points

Cannot use too fine of a grindSlow pouringGrind feature too loud for my tasteLots of parts to cleanReplacement parts are relatively expensive

Detailed Commentary

This machine was a wonderful gift from my friend for Christmas, (I was looking for a nicer drip machine than my Mr. Coffee that I was using and this fit the bill nicely.) I knew what I was in for when I got this, as I did some research online when my friend told me about the choice that she made for my gift. I knew that there were some things about this machine that some people did not like and I prepared myself for the worst.

When I got the machine, it was well packed and my friend even included some things that did not come with it when she bought it, (it was a refurbished product and it originally did not come with the gold tone filter and she was nice enough to get one for me, along with a year's supply of water filters.) I was amazed with the double boxes it came packed in, as I never have seen a coffee maker packed in two boxes before, (since reading this site, I have seen more examples). UPS did a nice job of getting the machine to me in one piece and not broken.

I did read the manual, as there were features on this machine that I needed to get used to. This thing had more bells and whistles than I was accustomed to and this took a while to get used to. The manual was really well written and to the point.

The more I got used to the machine, (and its many quirks), the more I loved it. I felt very happy with it, except when I used too fine of a grind and the machine clogged. I almost threw it away, when I deduced that I needed to use a coarser grind. I have since gotten used to using the machine with auto-drip grinds and no finer.

I do not use the grinder, because the grind coming out of it was not decent enough to make a good cup of coffee, and it was awful loud, (I live in an apartment building and I get up between 2 and 3 AM for work, so it does not make sense to use it).

I like the temperature of the coffee and the fact that I can have hot coffee when I come home from work later, (I have a thermal carafe and this has been a major reason that I kept it so long). I also like not having burnt coffee with no hot plate underneath.

I like the water filtration feature and how my coffee tastes. I do not like the price of the filters and the other replacement parts, (a new carafe is $48.00 (!!))

Overall, I like this product, however, I would like to step up to a Capresso next time... :-D

VB

Buying Experience

This was a gift from a good friend, so I was not the one purchasing this product...